Thread: Which insurance?

Originally Posted by Ranga

Just rang them and they told me unless I'm a motoring enthusiast or involved in the motoring scene, they can't cover me?!

I had the same issue with Shannons when looking for insurance for my 1968 Corvette. They ask you some qualifying questions and my answers weren't "enthusiastic" enough for them. Thus they wouldn't ensure me either. I had 5 cars at the time, most of which were "toys". I suspect it's a risk profiling exercise based on the premise that enthusiasts will take more care and are therefore less likely to claim.

My thoughts on insuring a 4WD are:

• If you go off road, be sure to get full geographic coverage, not just for gazetted roads.
• If you have suspension mods or non-standard tyres make sure they are declared on the policy so that they do not invalidate your policy. You don't want this to be an issue when you lodge a claim.
• Especially if you go for a cheap policy, go through the fine print looking for things such as a requirement to provide prior notification to the insurance company if the vehicle will be temporarily garaged at a location other than that specified in the policy. Otherwise you may find that if the car gets stolen whilst you're away on holidays that your claim gets rejected.

I have full off road insurance with a major insurance company. I recently wrote off my Defender whilst off road. As it was less than 2 years old the insurance company replaced it with a new one. The whole matter was handled without any fuss and they didn't try to escape their responsibility with tricky clauses. They also provided a rental car for a couple of weeks. I'd ticked the "no claim bonus protection" box on the form so I've retained my no claim bonus and the original insurance policy is still in force covering the replacement Defender. They also paid up on all the accessories that I'd listed on the policy and paid for the car to be transported 160km back home.

If only they could give me back all those weekends that I spent installing the accessories!

My insurance was arranged through a broker that specialised in 4WDs. They seemed to "get it" as far as off-roading goes and can insure not just the car but the accessories and mods (including lifts etc). Most of the 4WD magazines carry ads from 4WD insurance brokers, including the one that I used.

Personally, I'm sticking with the major insurers. Insurance ads featuring silly French accents and offers of $50 miss the point AFAIC.

I am with Ryno, they have a specific 4x4 policy and do an agree'd value rather than market.

RVR110 any chance you could PM me with the company you use, I'm currently trying to find a new one as RAC(WA) will no longer cover me in NSw and am not particularly happy with my "fill in" company.

PM Sent.